P15-million smartphones, accessories seized in NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Customs (BOC) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) seized 825 smuggled branded smartphones and accessories worth P15 million yesterday afternoon.

The gadgets arrived in the country in two shipments from South Korea last July 16, said BOC-NAIA district collector Mimel Talusan.

The smartphones were declared as used cell phones and stored at the TMW warehouse near NAIA Terminal 1. 

Customs-TMW chief Ronald Moreno said they refrained from opening the shipments until the filing of an entry for release lapsed.

Among the smartphone models seized were Samsung S10 plus, Samsung S9 plus, Samsung S10, Samsung Note 9, Note 10, LG, Samsung A5, Samsung A7 and iPhone 8.

Other accessories were Samsung earphones and Apple airpods.

Talusan said the smartphones are supposed to have permits from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

In a statement, Samsung Philippines thanked authorities for protecting the company from the black market of used cell phones.